MyTypewriter.com Keeps it Real
So you thought you'd heard the last from the grand old, and not so old typewriter? Think again. Some of us never abandoned our faithful friend, who never erases, eats, or loses our work; never gives us carpal tunnel syndrome; never has a virus or even the sniffles; and never crashes or even misbehaves. The San Jose Mercury News recently reported that the under-30 crowd is now discovering the many joys of the beloved typewriter, and that retailers are "tapping into that market." Many retailers report that this younger group is even overtaking the traditional clientele of baby boomers and their elders. The biggest segment of these new typewriter converts? "They're the writers, the artists," the paper reports. They love the sound, the feel of the paper, and the intimacy of it all. MyTypewriter.com is the online clearinghouse for vintage manual and electric typewriters that is supporting a resurgence of young people buying and using restored Remingtons, IBM Selectrics, Olivettis and the rest. The 30-plus crowd is welcome, too, of course. You'll also find ribbons and other supplies as well as typewriter-themed gifts. The typewriter lives!
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Much Ado About Publishing
Scenes from the Writing Life
I’d heard of virgins, and even born-again virgins (a bit of an oxymoron, don’t you think? But, hey, whatever floats your boat), but I’ll never forget the day when I learned that there was such a thing as a virgin manuscript.A friend of mine had been submitting her book proposal to agents, when one responded by asking, “Is this a virgin manuscript?”
“A what?”
“A virgin manuscript,” the agent repeated. “One that no one else has ever seen before.”
“No, it’s not. Other agents have seen it.”
Well,” the agent said in a snooty huff, “I’m sorry, but I’m not interested in anything but virgin manuscripts. I won’t even look at a manuscript unless I’m the first agent to see it.”
And I’ll bet this agent thinks that when she dies and goes to heaven, 72 of ‘em will be waiting for her up there.
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Agents and publishers may want to learn from inventor Thomas Edison’s immortal words: “Hell, there are no rules here – we’re actually trying to accomplish something.”
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My favorite part of the BEA convention, besides the IPPY Awards, of course, is all those funny buttons that publishers give out to promote their books. Among the best I’ve seen over the last few years: “Ask me what geniuses think about.”
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Last fall, Christopher Reeve, not only the most remarkable person I’ve ever interviewed, but the most remarkable person I’ve ever known, got out of his wheelchair and flew, Superman-style, right up to heaven.
Just thought you’d like to know that his books weren’t ghostwritten. Even though he couldn’t move his hands, he wrote them himself.
He dictated them.
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No matter what challenges you may be facing in writing or publishing, you may want to remember the immortal words of Walt Disney: “Difficult takes awhile. Impossible takes a little longer.”
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Have you ever wondered why the last decade or so has seen such a flood of memoirs by the non-famous who eagerly tell all about their forays into insanity, mental illness, or just garden variety neuroses?
Back on November 20, 1994, no less an authority than Charles Manson complained about the times to The San Jose Mercury News, “It used to be that being crazy meant something. Now, everybody is crazy.”
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Before I was 35, I was considered the young whippersnapper.
After the age of 35, I was considered the wise, old veteran.
For a couple of minutes during the year that I actually was 35, everyone I dealt with thought that I was neither the young whiz kid, nor the old sage.
That brief time without those ridiculously inaccurate labels, when everyone thought of me as just me, went by so quickly that the minute I noticed it, it was gone.
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I miss the 20th century. I want it back.
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Today, my cat coughed up a furball on a pile of magazines on the floor of my office in front of a bookshelf. I think that was her way of saying, “Hey, ma, this stuff has been sitting here long enough. Put it away where it belongs or throw it away, but get it the hell off my floor.”
She’s used to me being very organized. Those magazines had been on the floor for a couple of weeks as I slowly (also unusual for me, since I tend to zip along) reorganized what was on most of my ten bookshelves. Like most writers, she’s a creature of habit.
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Author E.L. Doctorow got it right when he said: “Writing a book is like driving a car at night. You only see as far as your headlights go, but you can make the whole trip that way.”
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What does a writer do to celebrate? Why, she takes herself out to Office Depot, of course. Some ink for the printer, a box of pens, and a couple of bottles of Liquid Paper to toast with.
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Famed pantomime artist Marcel Marceau once said, “Do not the most moving moments of our lives find us all without words?”
Yeah, maybe, but mimes still creep me out.
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Nina L. Diamond is a journalist, essayist, and the author of Voices of Truth: Conversations with Scientists, Thinkers & Healers. Her work has appeared in numerous publications, including Omni, The Los Angeles Times Magazine, The Chicago Tribune, and The Miami Herald.
Ms. Diamond was a writer and performer on Pandemonium, the National Public Radio (NPR) satirical humor program, for its entire run in Miami and select markets nationwide from 1984-1998. As an editor, she works frequently with other authors and journalists on both fiction and non-fiction.
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Logo image courtesy of George Glazer Gallery, NYC georgeglazer.com